'Water -- two billion people are dying for it!'

Broadly, the agenda is to give a human face to environmental issues; empower people to become active agents of sustainable and equitable development; promote an understanding that communities are pivotal to changing attitudes towards environmental issues; and advocate partnership which will ensure all nations and peoples enjoy a safer and more prosperous future. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) selected -- Lebanon, a country whose fabled cedar trees have been revered since the sea-faring days of the Phoenicians, to host this year's World Environment Day. It is the first time in the 30-year history of this awareness-raising event that the main celebrations have been held in the Arab world.

This year's theme, (Water -- Two Billion People are Dying for It!) echoes one of the most pressing environmental issues facing the planet and its six billion citizens. The theme for World Environment Day also supports the celebration of 2003 as the International Year of Freshwater. Kofi Annan, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, said: "One person in six lives without regular access to safe drinking water. Over twice that number -- 2.4 billion -- lack access to adequate sanitation. Water-related diseases kill a child every eight seconds". He added that the international community had, at the Millennium Summit and the World Summit on Sustainable Development, set "measurable, time-bound commitments" to provide safe water and sanitation. "These targets must be met and surpassed if the Millennium Development Goals of reducing child mortality, combating malaria, eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, empowering women, and improving the lives of slum dwellers are to be achieved," said Mr Annan.

Klaus Toepfer, Executive Director of UNEP, said: "We couldn't be more delighted that Lebanon has agreed to host this important United Nations day in the International Year of Freshwater. West Asia, the region in which the country lies, vividly highlights the threats and challenges people across the globe face in their search for that most basic and fundamental element of life". "Trees, forests and water are inextricably linked. So it is fitting that a country whose national flag is the majestic cedar tree, is hosting this year's World Environment Day celebrations," he added. The latest Global Environment Outlook, GEO-3, estimates that more than half the people in the world could be living in severely water-stressed areas by 2032.

The goal for World Water Day 2003 is to inspire worldwide political and community action and encourage greater global understanding of the need for more responsible water use and conservation. The theme for this year's event is "Water for the Future", calling on one and all to observe sustainable approaches to water use for the benefit of future generations.

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the leading UN agency for World Water Day 2003, aims to work with governments and key partners worldwide to plan events that achieve this end. It is notable that World Water Day, this year, coincided with celebrations marking 2003 as the International Year of Fresh Water.

The Third World Water Forum (Osaka, 16-23 March 2003) witnessed the launch of the World Water Development Report, a UN effort towards monitoring progress made in water development and cross cutting issues in fields such as health, food, ecosystems, cities, industry, energy, risk management, water valuation, resource sharing, knowledge base construction and governance.

It may be mentioned that for the first time, 23 United Nations agencies and convention secretariats combined their efforts and expertise to produce the most comprehensive and up-to-date report on the state of the world's freshwater resources. The World Water Development Report was the first UN system-wide evaluation of global water resources where it mentions that the global water crisis would reach unprecedented levels in the years ahead with "growing per capita scarcity of water in many parts of the developing world".

Water resources will steadily decline because of population growth, pollution and expected climate change. The World Water Development Report -- Water for People, Water for Life -- is the most comprehensive, up-to-date overview of the state of the resource. Presented on the eve of the Third World Water Forum (Kyoto, Japan, March 16 23), it represents the single most important intellectual contribution to the Forum and the International Year of Freshwater, which is being led by UNESCO and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs. The report ranks over 180 countries and territories in terms of the amount of renewable water resources available per capita, meaning all of the water circulating on the surface, in the soil or deeper underground. The report takes an in-depth look at every major dimension of water use and management -- from the growth of cities to the threat of looming water wars between countries.

A single thread runs through each section: the water crisis -- be it the number of children dying of disease or the polluted rivers -- is a crisis of governance and a lack of political will to manage the resource wisely. As demand for water grows, there is much talk of looming water wars. The report presents empirical data indicating the contrary. The report highlights the findings of a study of every single water-related interaction between two countries or more over the past 50 years. Of the total 1,831 interactions, the overwhelming majority, 1,228, were cooperative. They involved the signing of about 200 water-sharing treaties or the construction of new dams. There are a total of 507 conflictive events. Only 37 involved violence, of which 21 consisted of military acts (18 between Israel and its neighbours).

Billy I Ahmed is a researcher.